“No need of that. Come around to the back porch. It’s shady there and I’ll bring you a cool drink.”
Joy took the man’s hand. “I’ll show you. What you got that pin on your shirt for? I like to run. Can I run with you sometime? We’re goin’ to have a watermelon for dinner. You can stay and have some.”
He looked at Julie as if to ask, What do I do now?
Julie smiled. “You’re on your own.”
As soon as she turned back into the house, the smile faded from her face. What would a lawman want with Joe and Jack? She knew for a fact that neither one of them had been to town since a week ago Friday. Thank goodness Jill was upstairs or she would ask him a hundred questions.
Julie came out of the back of the house as Joy and the police chief came around the corner. The child was looking up at him and talking a mile a minute.
“Our dog’s name’s Sidney. Julie don’t let him in the house when he’s rolled in cow-do. He’s nasty and he stinks. Do you have a little girl?”
Corbin saw Julie and reached for the cedar water bucket she carried.
“I’ll get it, ma’am.”
“Did Joy talk your arm off?”
“I picked up quite a bit of information about the family on the way around the house. Sylvia comes to the ball games, your dog’s name is Sidney. He sometimes gets nasty, and Papa isn’t mad at Jill.”
“Oh, dear. I’m afraid to ask what else she told you.”
“I like him, Julie.” Joy’s forefinger went up her nose and Julie hastily pulled it down.
Corbin went to the pump and Joy followed. Julie waited on the porch and opened the door when he returned with a full bucket of water.
“Put it here on the table and help yourself.” She handed him the dipper.
“Good well water,” he said after plunging the dipper into the cool water and drinking thirstily. He could smell and taste the sweet flavor that cedar wood gave to the water.
“We’re partial to it.”
“Whose car’s out there?” Jill’s voice reached the kitchen before she did. She came into the room and stopped.
“This is my sister, Jill. Mr. Appleby, the policeman from town.”
“Her name’s Justine,” Joy said loudly. “But she don’t like it.”
“I can’t say that I blame her. Jill is a much prettier name.” Corbin smiled at the young girl. “I’ll wait out on the porch, Miss Jones.”
“Papa and the boys should be here anytime now. I can usually count on them not being late for a meal. Will you stay and eat with us, Mr. Appleby?”
“Oh, no, ma’am. I’d not put you out. I’m sorry I came at mealtime.”
“You wouldn’t be putting us out. We’ve having green beans, new potatoes and corn bread. Nothing fancy.”
“Pl-ease! Julie made green-tomato pie,” Joy coaxed with her head cocked to one side.
“I hate it,” Jill said scathingly. “If you stay she might open a jar of pickled peaches.”
The man’s eyes were going from one girl to the other. Julie felt the heat of embarrassment on her face. Then she heard the sound of the men coming into the farmyard.
“Papa and the boys are here.” She went out onto the back porch and Corbin followed.
As they watered the mules, the Jones men observed the stranger on the porch. They herded the animals into the fenced enclosure next to the barn, then came to the house.
Corbin stepped off the porch to meet them. He spoke to Jethro first.
“Mr. Jones, I’m Chief Appleby from Fertile.” He held out his hand and Jethro took it.
“Howdy. These are my boys, Joe and Jack.”
Corbin shook hands with each of them. “I stopped by to ask if you boys were at the Johnson farm Wednesday night.”
“We were there,” Joe spoke up quickly. “Something wrong over at Johnson’s?”
“No. Not that I know of.”
“We helped Evan pull down an old shed.”
“I was there, too.” Jason, with Sidney at his heels, came around the end of the porch.
“Yes, you were, you brat!” Joe picked him up and hung him in the crook of his arm like a gunnysack and rubbed his head with his knuckles.
“Put me down, you … you, pootknocker!”
“Watch what you say, brat, or I’ll dump you in the horse trough.”
“Stop horsin’ around, Joe.” Jethro had a worried look on his face. “Is Johnson in some sort of trouble?”
Corbin ignored the question and spoke to Joe. “Did you see Walter Johnson while you were there?”
“No, but he was there.”
“I saw him,” Jason said. “He was on the porch. Julie and Joe told me to stay away from him, so when he came out I ran to where Joe and Jack were working on the shed.”
“How long did you stay?”
“We came home about an hour after dark.”
“Was Walter still there?”
“The light was on in the kitchen. If he went anywhere he walked. His horse was in the barn.”
“That’s what his son said. I just wanted to verify that he was at home. Thank you—”
“Has there been trouble in town?” Jethro asked.
“The usual. Fights down at Well’s Point and a boat set on fire.”
“I’d be surprised if Walter wasn’t mixed up in it.”
“I guess he’s in the clear this time.”
“Why wouldn’t you take Evan’s word that he was home?” Joe asked. “He’d not lie about a thing like that.”
“Mr. Corbin,” Julie called before he could answer. “Jill has set another place at the table. You’re welcome to stay and eat.”
“Thank you, Miss Jones. That green-tomato pie is mighty tempting.”
“Tell her you like pickled peaches,” Jill called, then scooted into the house.
“Wash up there on the porch, Chief,” Jethro said. “You’re welcome to stay.”
“Gol-ly,” Jason exclaimed. “A real live lawman is goin’ to eat dinner with us.”
“All the lawmen who’ve eaten with us before were dead,” Jack explained in a loud whisper and grabbed his younger brother by the back of the neck.
Chapter 12
CORBIN ENJOYED HIS DINNER more than any he’d had in a long time. He had not only been hungry for a home-cooked meal, but he found he genuinely liked every member of the Jones family. Jethro, the head of the family, was rather quiet. Jill, the younger daughter, was sulky, but the others made up for it with their constant friendly chatter.
“I tell you, that blasted mule dragged me and the plow all the way to the holler without breaking a sweat. The only thing that slowed the sucker down was the bog.”
“I remember that, Joe.” Jason reached across Joy for a piece of corn bread, only to have Julie lift the plate from under his hand and pass it to him.
“You ought to, you little pea brain. You started it all by coming out waving that blasted flag you got on the Fourth,” Joe replied, grinning.
“That’s not the worse thin’ he ever did,” Jack said gleefully. “Don’t you remember when he threw rocks at that hornet’s nest and knocked it to the ground? They took out after Pa and he had to dive in the horse tank.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Julie spoke up. “Stop picking on Jason.”
“We’d better stop it right here.” Jethro passed the pickled peaches to their guest. “The boys are windy when they’ve got a new listener,” he said by way of apology.
“I’m enjoying it, and the meal.”
Corbin liked the way Julie treated her brothers and sisters. She didn’t prod or scold, but corrected the younger ones gently and without fuss. He tried not to stare at her, but she was just across the table and every time he looked up from his plate her face was within his view. She was pretty—not flashy pretty, but in a soft, natural way.
“We have baseball games on Sunday,” Jason said. “One time I hit a ball that got Jack on third.”
“That must have been some hit.”
&n
bsp; “Jack runs faster than I do.”
“You’re welcome to come to the games,” Jethro said. “It would be a way of getting acquainted with some of the neighbors.”
“Do you have to work on Sunday?” Jill asked.
“I’m on duty all the time, being the only lawman in town, but I can take time off if I let the telephone operator know where I am.”
“We don’t have a phone,” Jill said and looked quickly at her father.
“They haven’t run the lines out this way.” Julie rose from the table. “If everyone is finished, I’ll get the pie.”
“Have you had many run-ins with the Johnsons?” Jethro asked in the silence that followed.
“With Walter Johnson a time or two. Nothing that amounted to much.” Corbin’s eyes followed Julie.
“You will. He’s been trouble around here for the past twenty-five years.”
“I was surprised to meet his son. He’s nothing like his father.”
“Yeah, well, who can tell?” Ending the subject, Jethro turned to his younger daughter. “Help your sister, Sis.”
When the meal was over, Corbin thanked Julie before he left the kitchen.
“Best meal I’ve had in a while, ma’am. Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome. We Joneses think it’s best to stay on the good side of the law.” She smiled and a dimple appeared in one cheek. “Not that we’ve got anything to hide,” she added quickly.
Out on the porch, Jack, the one with the freckles, asked him why he liked to run.
Corbin explained that when he was a kid he helped his father chop wood and got used to exercise. When he went away to school, he was on the track team and discovered he liked to run.
“I want to play baseball with a big league. Do you think running would help me?”
“It wouldn’t do any harm, that’s sure. But you probably get more exercise working here on the farm than I get walking the streets of Fertile. Did you know that a league is coming to town for an exhibition game?”
“When?” Jack’s eyes lit up.
“I’m not sure of the date. The advance man came though the first part of the week. In a few days they’ll be putting up notices.”
“Who’s the league gonna play?”
“A team from right here in Fertile. Ron Poole is in charge of the team. Why don’t you get in touch with him and try out? He’s got a bunch of fellows together and they’ve been practicing a couple nights a week.”
“Do you think I could?”
“You never know until you try.”
After the lawman left, Joe and Jack came back into the kitchen to get a mason jar to hold water to take to the field. Julie went to the pantry to find a lid.
Julie had been proud of the family during the meal. For the most part they had used the manners she had tried to instill in them. Even Joy’s exuberance hadn’t risen to the high pitch it usually did when a stranger was present. Jill had been careful to not irritate her father who was as edgy this morning as an old tomcat with a burr under his tail.
Yeah, well. Who can tell?
Her father’s words about Evan reverberated in her mind. He didn’t like Evan! What was she going to do? She had to tell him by this time tomorrow that she had agreed to go out with Evan. Julie dreaded making the announcement and was anxious to get it over with.
The only bright spot on the horizon was Jack’s excitement about the minor league baseball team coming to play in Fertile.
“Here’s the lid. Wet that old piece of blanket on the porch and wrap it around the jar. Jack, you should go to town and talk to Mr. Poole at the hardware. Ask him to let you try out for the town team.”
“That’s what I been telling him.”
“Will you go with me, Joe?”
“Sure. I’ll even go to the game if you play,” he teased.
“If you play, we’ll all be there, proud as punch,” Julie assured him.
She smiled fondly at her two brothers. Joe was the handsome one. Jack, less handsome and charming than his brother, needed to excel at something. Baseball was his love. She hoped that he would be allowed to play on the Fertile team.
“I’m going to town tonight with Evan,” Joe announced. “Sissy-britches can come along and we’ll stop and see Mr. Poole.”
“Watch out who you’re callin’ sissy,” Jack sputtered.
Surprised, Julie looked quickly at her brother, who avoided looking at her.
“You didn’t tell me Evan was coming by.”
“I didn’t know until this morning. I met him out along the fence line. Guess he’d been riding down by the river.”
“Papa?”
“Papa and Jack were up in the woods.”
Jack’s interest perked up. His eyes traveled from his brother to his sister.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothin’ you’d be interested in, ball-brain.” Joe grinned and hit his brother on the shoulder.
“I would, too. What’s goin’ on?” he repeated.
“Julie thinks Papa has it in for Evan for some reason.”
“He’s jealous,” Jack said quickly. “He’s got a crush on Mrs. Stuart, and he’s afraid Evan will beat his time with her.”
“Well, what do you know, Sis? Our brother isn’t so dumb after all,” Joe exclaimed.
Julie looked around quickly to make sure the younger children were not in hearing range and cautioned her brother.
“Be careful what you say, Joe. Jason and Joy have big ears.”
“And bigger mouths,” Jack added.
“I hope Evan does beat his time with her. The Humphrey boys say that she’s a pain in the butt. They can’t wait to get her and her brat out of there. Why couldn’t Papa like someone like Miss Meadows? She’s a nice woman.”
“You boys goin’ to lollygag in there all day?” Jethro called from the yard.
“Comin’,” Jack answered and went out the door.
Julie put her hand on Joe’s arm. “Tell him tonight that I’ve changed my mind.”
“Not until noon tomorrow,” Joe said firmly and went out onto the porch.
* * *
Corbin was glad circumstances had forced him to stop at the Jones farm. When Ira Brady had given him a rundown on the families living on the farms surrounding the town, he had merely mentioned the Joneses as well as the Humphreys and the Birches. He had spoken at length about Walter Johnson, as had Marshal Sanford. Not much had been said about the son.
Evan Johnson was a surprise. Why would an educated, world-traveled man be satisfied to spend his time laboring on a Missouri farm? Corbin couldn’t see that the father and son had a single thing in common. Or had they? He had the impression that Jethro Jones had his doubts about the son.
The Edge of Town Page 17